Wayne Rooney's England World Cup Role Questioned After Wing Switch

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

Wayne Rooney's role at the World Cup has been placed under the microscope after England manager Roy Hodgson revealed the striker would play in a wide role against Ecuador on Wednesday, reports John Cross of the Daily Mirror.

The Manchester United forward failed to shine in the friendly win over Peru on Friday, and he will now be given a wider role for the warm-up match in Miami.

But Hodgson wants Rooney to rediscover form and fitness in an unfamiliar role with England.

Hodgson is quoted as saying:

The thinking behind Wayne starting a second game is he only played 60 minutes the other day. He didn’t play too many games (in the final weeks of the season) before he joined us.

We think he’s recovering his match fitness and we think starting the game and playing a part will be to his advantage.

Wayne can play in several positions, and he’ll play in a position which we think will suit the team and which he’s capable of playing.

We’ve seen him play centre-forward, behind the centre-forward and wide. If he’s done all of those things at the very top level for Manchester United, there’s no reason why I can’t use him in those positions as well.

Southampton Want Manchester United Striker Hernandez as Part of Shaw Deal

The article claims that the Mexico international is also wanted by Inter Milan and Valencia, but the Saints are looking for additions up front after the departure of Rickie Lambert to Liverpool and the expected exit of Dani Osvaldo this summer.

Meanwhile, incoming United manger Louis van Gaal has credited his Old Trafford predecessor David Moyes for his handling of Robin van Persie's injury this season, reports Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror.

The Arsenal midfielder was jeered by some fans as he was substituted during the friendly draw with Cameroon at the weekend after an inconsistent season with the Gunners following his £42.5 million switch from Real Madrid.

Ballack is quoted as saying:

It’s difficult to say where his head is going to be at the World Cup. I saw him play for the national team at the weekend and I was not surprised, not scared, but a little bit concerned, by his performances actually.

He has done well for Germany, and he played well during the qualifying campaign, but in the last few months, since his move to Arsenal, he has not been the same player, in terms of his confidence, that we used to see in the national team.

I don’t know whether the Arsenal move has affected him because he was untouchable and in Germany we still expect him to be one of our best players. But he is not a leader on the pitch, like a captain.

He is a fantastic player who still has to find his role and his responsibility for the team, and when he was criticised for his performances, he looked surprised, he looked lost.

People expect so much of him, but he can improve his body language massively because he is now at an age where he is no longer a young talent or a promising player.

As one of our best players he has to take more responsibility, and we expect more from him at the moment. Hopefully, when the World Cup starts, we will see a different player.